What a Wonderful Weekend!!

This last weekend I went to visit Lesa (my sista from anotha mista) in Ft. Lewis and it was SO FUN!!! In a fun little twist, when she came out in May last year, she brought the moisture from Washington with her, (NM needed her as much as I did) and when I went up there I took the sunshine with me. It was beautiful weather! I'm not quite sure what the record number of pictures in a single post it, but I'm sure I'm about to break it! So here goes:

DAY 1

I arrived on Thursday and we just hung out and had pizza.

Lesa is the type of person you don't need to be doing something to have fun with.

DAY 2

Lesa's cousin, Candice, came out for a quick visit as well. At first I was a little bummed that I wouldn't get Lesa all to myself for the whole trip, but Candice ended up being really cool and fun to talk with. So it just added to the fun. Anyways, we picked her up from the airport and then dropped her off where she needed to go and we went to the Pike Street Market.

This is where they are famous for the fish throwing.

I was always turned away when they started the yelling and tossing, so I ended up seeing it, but not catching it on camera.

Oh well!

Next time!

Ryan says in this picture, you can tell I'm a tourist.

I wonder what gave me away?

The camera bag on my shoulder?

My entusiasm pointing at the sign?

This guy was cool, just hanging with his piano on the street corner.

How could I not take a picture?

I was amazed at the fresh fruit and veggie spread.

It all looked sooooo delicious!

I've seen bouquet/bunches of red chiles like this, but I thought this one was really cool.

But since I didn't actually have room in my bag to buy one and box it up, I just took a picture of it.

 My Lesa, chauffeur, tour guide...

For the rest of the day, we hung out, chowed down some Girl Scout cookies and got in a little shopping.

DAY 3

We went on the "Ride the Duck" tour.

It was this amphibious vehicle that women in WWII built that could travel on land and sea.

Lesa and her kiddos, Isaac, Chase and Ashlynne

Lesa and Candice

Me and the captain of our boat

We saw Safeco Field where the Mariners play.

And the beautiful waterway that houses the "Sleepless in Seattle" floating house, the boat from the first season of "Deadliest Catch", the smallest floating house, and...

the park area in "10 Things I Hate About You" where they have their paintball war.

I'm sure there were other cool things about the area, but I can't remember them all.

I thought this was so sweet. Chase got tired and just leaned on Isaac's shoulder.

These guys, I have no idea their names, but they were German.

And I loved listening to their accents...they made me miss Germany!

Plus, the guy in navy blue totally had the hots for Candice.

Actually, he probably was just really friendly. But they were fun to sit by.

Our crew with el capitan.

Me and the Space Needle!!

I got a little cozy with the Fremont Bridge troll.

He was pretty nice, but the homeless guy who climbed out from behind him was a little scary!

Ashlynne, Lesa, Chase and the troll.

After our awesome tour, we took Candice back to the airport and then went back home to get ready for a GNO! We went to this cool place called, "The Rock" for dinner and then saw "Valentine's Day". The food was good and the movie was cute. But the best part was just hanging with my friend!

DAY 4

We went to church first thing and then drove around to get a tour of Ft. Lewis.

It was GORGEOUS!

Me and Mt. Rainier.

 I fell in love with the beautiful view of the volcano when I saw it first in the air on the plane flying in to Seattle. The following are why I love Lesa...

She's Number One

And lots of fun,

She's totally cool,

So not a fool,

And happy too!

And these last pictures are what the whole weekend was all about.

When Lesa and I lived across the street from each other in Germany, we did everything together. We survived deployments...and I might add, we didn't just survive, but we totally conquered them. We traveled to Poland, England, Belgium, France and various German towns together. Since we left Germany 2 1/2 years ago, I probably use 1/2 my in-minutes on Verizon talking to her, so I never really missed her that bad. But it did make me realize how much I missed the hanging out, running our errands and grocery shopping and all the little stuff we used to do when she came to see me last May. Since Doug deployed last summer, I have wanted to go visit her and I finally made it! And now I miss all that again! 

What began in 2004 will now last a lifetime. 

There is a special strength that comes from having such a fabulous friend. 

Thank you Lesa for showing me such a great time. I'd never seen that part of the country and I totally fell in love. It was BEAUTIFUL!!  And you are beautiful, and such an amazing mother.

And thank you for being the wonderful friend that you are.

I LOVE YOU!!